Home Is Where You Hang Your Hat
by tgrfan23
Summary: Set in the Voltron Force continuity. Keith learns that you can go home again, but it's not always as easy as it's made out to be.


_a/n: Hi there! I am new to writing Voltron fics, but I was inspired to pen this short missive by the new Nicktoons series **Voltron Force**. This is set in the VF continuity sometime during episode two, **Defenders of Arus**, after Keith arrives triumphantly with Black Lion. _

_Voltron and associated characters are the property of World Events Productions, I'm just happy to be toying around in the sandbox. I hope you enjoy!_

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><p>Keith Kogane dragged himself through the halls of the Castle of Lions, bleary-eyed and dog-tired. He'd been back on Arus barely twelve hours and was in desperate need of a shower and a bed. He hadn't even bothered to ask Allura or Coran where he could stay for the night, having slipped away quietly during a late post-dinner meeting. Five-plus years on the run had taught him more about executing stealth tactics than all his classes at the Academy combined.<p>

He paused at the junction of two corridors to gather his bearings. The castle had undergone many renovations and technology upgrades in the time he'd been away, but he'd recognize this hallway anywhere – each door was marked with a colored lion for the quarters of the members of the Voltron Force.

_The more things change, the more they stay the same_, he thought to himself. Reaching the door marked with a black lion, he punched in his old security code – 91084 – on a hunch. The doors opened and he smiled slightly. The smile evaporated quickly into a look of utter shock once the state of the room registered.

The bag containing the few possessions he'd had with him upon his return to the planet was already settled at the foot of the bed. The rest of the room had, apparently, remained untouched since he'd left Arus assuming that he and the rest of the Voltron Force were headed to Earth for a joyous – and supposedly temporary – visit to celebrate their defeat of Prince Lotor and the forces of Planet Doom.

_Temporary_, he chuckled to himself ruefully. _Does five years count as temporary?_

His Garrison uniforms hung neatly in the closet. "No need for these anymore," he mumbled, moving to poke through the dresser. The drawers were empty.

"I hope you don't mind, I sent all the clothes you left here to the castle staff to be laundered. I wasn't sure what you'd have with you. Frankly, I'm less sure that any of that stuff even still fits you anymore."

Keith jumped at the sound of the Princess' voice coming from the open doorway. _Looks like she's learned a thing or two while I've been gone, too._

"I'm sorry, Keith, I didn't mean to startle you," Allura replied gently, sensing his unease. "When Coran and I realized that you'd snuck out of the meeting, I took a wild guess that you might come looking for your old quarters."

Keith sunk tiredly onto the edge of the bed. "I wasn't sure where else to go," he admitted. "I've been gone so long …" he trailed off.

Allura dragged the chair out from under Keith's desk and sat down, silently urging him to continue.

"So much has changed around the castle, but I walked in here … and all my stuff is just where I left it. It's like I'd never left at all."

Allura wrung her hands nervously. "I'm afraid that's my fault, Keith. When the lions were confiscated and you disappeared, none of us knew what to think. I had hoped that Coran and I could clear everything up quickly and get Black Lion back through diplomatic channels, but as the months wore on, it became clear that wasn't going to happen. I'd left all your rooms ready in case you came back. Lance, Hunk and Pidge came to visit when they had leave, but you ..." she trailed off, uncertain as to whether to proceed.

Keith nodded, encouraging her to continue. "Well, by the time we realized that we weren't sure when we'd see you again, I just couldn't bring myself to pack up your things and store them away. So I closed up your room, just as you'd left it. The castle staff came in occasionally to clean, and make sure the space mice weren't destroying your stuff, but other than that, this room has been empty, waiting for you to come back."

"I'm sorry I was gone so long, Allura." There was a note of shame in his voice.

"You did what you had to do, Keith."

"I didn't **want** to be gone for five years," he confessed sadly. "I've missed so much around here. I feel … hell, I don't even **know** exactly how I feel."

Allura reached out to gently brush his hair off his forehead. "You've only been back twelve hours, Keith. Try not to push yourself in getting caught up all at once, maybe?"

"Fat chance of that happening."

Allura laughed heartily. "True. Some things never change. And that can be comforting, you know."

"I guess." He paused, and she could see his inner debate play out on his face, wondering whether to bring up whatever he wanted to discuss next.

"Allura," he spit out hesitantly, "was I gone too long? Is there still a place for me here?"

She recoiled, surprised and a little horrified that he would ever consider such a question. "You were gone for as long as you had to be. And the only way that you would ever have been gone too long, is if you'd never come back at all. It may not feel this way to you, at least right now, but you bought us **time**, Keith. Time to regroup. Time for Coran and me to start rebuilding Arus again. Time for all of us to grow up a little, or at least grow older, in Lance's case." Keith smirked. "I wish it hadn't taken five years for you to find Black Lion and come back to us, but that's the way it had to be. You're back, and that's all that matters."

Glancing down at her watch, she rose reluctantly and headed toward the door. "I should be going. You're obviously very tired, and I have my shift monitoring Castle Control in fifteen minutes. As I recall, our Commander is quite the stickler for punctuality."

Keith smiled and relaxed back into the pillows on the bed. "Allura!" he called just as she entered the hallway.

"Yes?" she replied, turning just enough so he could make out her face in the shadows.

"Thank you," he replied solemnly.

"For?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.

"For having faith. For believing that I would be back, and for giving me a place to come back to."

She leaned against the doorjamb and sighed.

"I never doubted you, Keith. Not once."

The doors slid closed and Keith quickly drifted off to sleep, for once not plagued by nightmares of being chased down by Galaxy Alliance goons, always looking over his shoulder, trying to stay two steps ahead of his pursuers.

He was home.

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><p><em>bonus brownie points for anyone who can identify the significance of Keith's security code!<em>


End file.
